Liar
by Sofia Bee
Summary: "Nobody is going to put you in a cage." Clearly she lied. 17 times in the past 2 years to be exact. And as time number 18 stood there raising holy hell the de-hulking cage, Natasha wondered if Bruce silently held that lie against her.


**Title:** Liar  
**Author:** Sofia Bee  
**Rating**: T  
**Category**: Avengers  
**Pairing: **Bruce & Natasha  
**Summary:** De-hulking is getting harder and harder every time, and Tony finally tells Natasha why.

**Extra Note**: I've been ITCHING to use the "Nobody's going to put you in a cage" line since I saw the movie.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

"Nobody is going to put you in a cage."

Clearly she lied. 17 times in the past 2 years to be exact.

And as time number 18 stood there raising holy hell the de-hulking cage, Natasha wondered if Bruce silently held that lie against her.

"Bruce, please calm down," Natasha pleaded. Though protected by the barricade of supposedly Hulk-proof glass, she dared not take another step closer to the gigantic green monster that inhabited said cage at the moment. Fear told her that barricade was nothing more than an illusion and that the Hulk would rip her to shreds the second she got close enough. The Hulk, not affected by her words, was roaring as loud as he could, banging its fists as hard as he could against the panes, rattling the walls slightly.

Startled, Natasha took another step back, and at the back of her mind she doubted that the contraption was Hulk proof at all. If earlier events were taken into account, it would be made public that the cage was not Thor-proof. Silently cursing herself for not allowing Thor and Hulk to duke it out in the battles of the immortals to prove who was stronger, she contemplated for a moment before taking a few steps closer.

"Bruce, its me, Natasha," she called out, her hand reaching forward. Tentatively she placed her hand against the glass, open palmed to him. The Hulk paused and eyed her intently, breathing heavily. It was obvious it was as exhausted as she was. She searched his orbs and for a vague moment she locked eyes with Bruce's, not the Hulk's eyes. She smiled, hoping it was a sign that her precious Bruce was de-hulking and returning to the world of the humans.

She was wrong.

With the loudest roar she ever experienced, the Hulk smashed his fists against the glass, causing the glass to crack. Natasha gasped, taking a few clumsy steps back, falling flat on her ass. Before she could gather her thoughts, another more human voice roared his way inside.

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

Jerking around, Natasha was met with a rather perplexed and dare anyone say worried look on Tony's face. The billionaire was clad in his slacks and a t-shirt, his arm bandaged and his forehead baring stitches. The earlier battle had proven rough and scarred the pretty boy's face. Tony wasn't the least bit amused and it aggravated Natasha greatly.

"What do you think I am doing? Trying to calm that thing down so we can get Bruce back!" she spat.

"And how is that working out for you?" Tony retorted, his arms crossed over his chest.

And right on cue the Hulk bellowed again, as if answering Tony for her. Tony would have added a snide remark, it if wasn't for the look of utter fear plastered all over Natasha's face. He was made aware of the event on the hell-carrier 2 years ago when the Hulk nearly manhandled her and though a self proclaimed asshole, he wasn't one to probe onto fear.

"Little Red, haven't you figured out yet that YOU are the reason that the Hulk is overstaying his welcome?" Tony asked, his finger pointing accusingly at her chest.

Natasha, utterly shocked by the accusation opened her mouth to hurl a strong of death threats at the cocky bastard; nobody talks to Natasha Romanoff like that and still breath afterwards. But to her own dismay nothing came out. The only audible noise she made was a vague "What?".

Tony sighed, she obviously didn't see it. "Get out of here, I will explain later." With that, Tony brushed past her, and boldly and fearlessly made his way towards the Hulk cage. Natasha's eyes widened when Tony punched in the access code, opening the cage.

"Hey buddy, why are you making all that noise?" Tony asked.

In one swift movement, Natasha exited the room. She was not in the mood to watch that thing rip Tony apart.

* * *

In the span of 3 hours, Clint had managed to get Natasha into the shower, get checked out by a medic and eat something of substance. The medic was the most challenging by far, she refused to be checked out by anyone other than Bruce, he was the only doctor she trusted to put their hands on her.

And now she sat in the living room of the Avengers Tower, waiting for Tony to emerge for the De-Hulking area. When the image of Tony being ripped to shreds flashed in front of her eyes, she couldn't determine if it was amusing or terrifying. She'd go with the latter just to be polite. Her ears perked and head shot up when the sliding doors opened.

"All right you little spit fire, he's all yours. Be nice though, he isn't in the greatest of moods." Tony said. To her surprise, Tony was still in one piece. He wasn't beaten to a bloody pulp, he wasn't sporting any broken limbs and his pretty face was still pretty, save the stitches from the earlier battle. This baffled her.

"I'd make him take a shower though, he smells worse than Barton after battle," Tony added for comedic effect. Natasha merely nodded as she slowly arose from the couch. Tony was planning to walk right past her, but her question stopped him mid way.

"What did you mean earlier that it's my fault?"

Tony sighed, bowing his head down. He was hoping she had forgotten about his earlier statement. At the moment he would have loved nothing more than to crawl into bed and have Pepper screaming to the high heavens as he made her orgasm over and over again before passing out due to lack of caffeine. Tonight didn't look like his desires would be fulfilled. Turning, he walked over to her and beckoned her to take a seat. She obeyed and he followed suit.

"Do you ever wonder why it was suddenly possible for you and Bruce to have actual sex?" Tony began. "You know, without that big green "elephant" in the room?"

Natasha's eyes widened and she turned red with anger, wondering why Tony would even bring up such a topic. Her facial expression must have given her away because Tony interrupted her before she could open her mouth.

"Don't even think of threatening me with killing me 27 different ways with your finger. Just answer the question princess," Tony stated.

Natasha yielded, admitting to herself that she was too tired to put up a fight with the one and only smartass Tony Stark, and honestly she wanted to get this conversation over with so he could make it to Bruce. Bowing her head, she clasped her hands together and rested her elbows on her knees. "Sometimes," she shrugged, eyes focused on her feet. Her personal life wasn't her favorite chit chat topic.

"Have you noticed that the de-hulking is getting harder and takes longer since you guys started having sex?" Tony continued.

She shook her head. "I didn't realize the two were interlaced."

Tony nodded. "I think its obvious that the Hulk isn't very fond of you."

Natasha scoffed. "That thing doesn't like anybody."

"Yes, but he particularly doesn't like you because he thinks you will be the end of him." Her head shot up at his words, and their eyes locked.

"And why is that?" she dared ask.

Taking in a deep breath, Tony took a second to gather his words.

"Before you ripped Bruce away from the barracks of Calcutta, he was content with his situation. He knew how to, well somewhat, control the Hulk and let him out when the situation called for it," Tony began. Natasha listened intently, wanting to understand.

"But when we became the fabulous group of freaks that we are, things changed. Specifically when Bruce fell for you. He fell in love with you and for the life of me I cant understand why," he added. The second part that was only added for comedic effect didn't fall on deaf ears. Natasha somewhat smiled. It eased Tony a little.

"When the two of you got serious, Bruce wanted to be able to be with you, you know, INTIMATELY, and he knew given his situation with the Hulk, it wouldn't be possible. So that's when we got to work in the lab," he added, rubbing a hand through his tousled hair.

Natasha eyed him strangely. "What are you saying?" she dared ask.

Tony let out a shaky breath, ready to divulge some scientific secrets he swore to protect with his life to Bruce. What a crappy secret keeper Tony turned out to be. "We knew that we couldn't cure Bruce of the gamma, but we figured out a way to suppress it long enough to spend some quality naked time with you." He gave her a few moments in silence to process his words.

"Bruce has never been happier than when he is with you. The Hulk thinks that Bruce is trying to kill him for you and naturally the Hulk doesn't like you for it." Tony added. Natasha's eyed glazed over with tears, but she refused to let them fall. Tony hesitated continuing but knew that Natasha would cut off his testicles if he didn't tell her the whole truth.

"The Hulk and Bruce are complete opposites, yin and yang if you will. Where as Bruce is smart and calm, the Hulk is unpredictable and rampant. Bruce isn't very good at fighting, especially not with himself, and the Hulk wont let him come back without a fight, and its a battle that Bruce is slowly losing." Those words let the tears fall, and Natasha's cheeks were stained with the hurt and guilt she was feeling.

"How'd you get him back?" she sniffled.

Tony shrugged. "The Hulk likes me."

Natasha arched an eyebrow. "I thought the Hulk didn't like anybody."

Tony chuckled. "Well most people don't like me unless they are obligated to, and seeing as Brucy-kins and him are opposites, naturally he is in love with me. And I also give him a Big Mac and a milkshake." He was pleased that Natasha cracked a smile at that.

"Hey," Tony whispered, his hand resting on hers to give her some kind of comfort. Appreciating the gesture, she rested her other hand atop his."We'll figure it out. In the meantime go put some clothes on that man. He's half naked on my very expensive floor."

* * *

Tony was right, Bruce was laying there half naked on his very expensive floor.

Natasha, clad in a tank top and pajama pants, noiselessly entered the room. Her heart sank at the sight of her beloved Bruce. He was laying down on his stomach, half torn trousers barely covering his lower body. The rest of his skin was covered in dirt and blood and his hair was sticking in all directions. Though she could not see his face, his body language made it clear that he was beyond exhausted.

"Bruce," Natasha softy called out. To her dismay the door was still locked. After a few unsuccessful pounds against the door, she looked over to to Bruce. He still hadn't raised his head.

"Baby," she called out. Throwing herself to the floor, she kept her body leveled to his. "Baby, what is the code to open the door?"

Bruce didn't move, his breathing only got a little more ragged. He didn't answer her.

"Bruce?"

Bruce let out something that resembled a growl. "Go away Natasha."

The words hurt, but she didn't move. "What is the code?"

"Just go," Bruce responded.

If we was going to be stubborn, Natasha could be too. "We can do this all night, or you can save yourself whatever energy you have left and open the door."

"I said go away," Bruce repeated, his skin turning a tint of lime green.

Natasha tried to keep herself calm. She remembered Tony's words and she knew that the Hulk was fighting against her. She was going to fight for him, the Hulk was not going to beat Bruce, Natasha would rather die than have that happen. "Baby, just come to bed with me. We'll get you cleaned up and get you all warm." His shivering was unnerving, the poor man was freezing his butt off.

"Bruce please." Her voice cracked.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Bruce bellowed. Shocked by the harsh tone of his words, Natasha froze. Moments passed by what seemed like ages. The silence was deafening.

"You don't belong in a cage." The words broke the silence that lingered. Bruce raised his head, and was met with the tear filled eyes of his beloved Natasha. Her hand rested open palmed against the glass as if it was trying to reach out to him. Her eyes were silently pleading for mercy, beseeching him to come to her, not just for his own wellbeing, but for her own.

"Please, just leave me alone." His request broke whatever was left of her heart. Bruce lowered his head back to the floor, too exhausted to keep it up. He prayed that Natasha would get up and head back to bed and leave him to is own doing. She was beautiful and precious and belonged in a warm bed with a warm body of a man that could be there for her unconditionally.

But Natasha didn't move. Instead she sat with her back against the wall, facing him, her knees pulled up to her chest. She couldn't stop the tears from falling, but she sat there motionlessly.

Waiting. Just waiting.

She would wait until he was ready to come out of his prison.

It was in that moment that she swore to herself that she would never have Bruce enter that cage again, no matter what the cost.

* * *

**The end**

**Please review to let me know what you think. **


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